Canada is on the cusp of a bioeconomic revolution. With its foundation of expansive forests and agricultural land, Canada is poised to unlock the value of its bio-based resources potential.

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has a big mandate.

With increasing urbanization comes an increased tax on our environment and its ability to sustain us.

If you’ve worked for more than one employer in your career, or even for the same company under different leaders, you’ll be very aware that when goals are not very well defined, productivity can suffer, and you and your colleagues could even be working at cross-purposes.

Last year I had the experience of driving along the east coast of South Africa north of Durban. For most of the journey, the surrounding land had rather scrubby vegetation: widely-spaced bushes.

There are two good reasons why the world should be focused on reducing carbon footprint. The first, obviously, is to slow the effects of global warming and the drastic consequences it has for the planet’s future. The second reason, sometimes forgotten or ignored, is that non-renewable or fossil resources will run out, possibly as soon as 2060. 

Lignin is gaining an ever increasing interest from researchers as well as from forest, plastic and energy industries. Having been mainly regarded and used as an energy source by the pulp and paper industry in the past, it is now also seen as a renewable raw material with great potential for an array of products replacing those fossil-based.

Nanocellulose is perhaps not on everyone’s lips but is a widely spread buzz word within our industry. A “googling” on the word nanocellulose while writing this article resulted after a search time of 0.45 seconds in some 701,000 hits. So the topic is obviously a hot one.

The pulp and paper industry is of great importance to the Finnish economy and accounts for more than 20 % of the country’s export value. In addition to that Finland has well-known consultant companies and a substantial mechanical industry producing equipment and services for the pulp and paper industry worldwide.

Kruger uses the best technology to produce high-end tissue

If you work in the pulp and paper industry, chances are you've come across the term circular economy, which has been creating a lot of hype as of late.

Last May 30 was a bright sunny day, as German papermaker ProGroup decided to pay a visit to its papermachine clothing supplier, Cristini, in Lachute, QC.

In my last blog, I emphasized that Green Chemistry Principles provide useful, actionable ways to drive innovation strategies and accelerate transformation in the pulp and paper (P&P) industry. Here, I will focus on a facilitating technology in the development and implementation of biomolecules, biomaterials, and bioproducts from biorefinery: molecular modeling (MM).

Increased level of pollution worldwide (soil, air and water) calls for urgent action and scalable solutions.

The Kraft pulping process, patented in 1879 and implemented in 1890, has shown resilience for more than 100 years, as it provides higher pulp strength and allows for about 98% of chemicals recovery cycle and energy efficiency.

FPInnovations will be wearing more than one hat during this year’s joint PaperWeek Canada and BIOFOR International 2020 event in Montreal.

Montreal, January 15, 2020 – FPInnovations is pleased to announce that its cellulose filament production technology will once again be brought to a commercial scale following Resolute Forest Products‘ announcement of a $27.7 million investment in its Kénogami plant in Quebec.

Last fall, FPInnovations had re-launched its popular series of forest-operations web conferences with a schedule of now eleven webinars that are taking place up until March 12.

Most Canadians find it hard to believe that the forest industry is accountable for only 4% of Canada’s deforestation. And that Canada has one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world (0.01%).

A scientific study just published in the international peer-review journal, Food Control, poses some serious questions about the sanitation of the re-usable plastic crates (RPCs) sometimes used to distribute fresh produce to retailers.

While the collective weight of Blue Box materials generated by Ontario households has not changed much over the last 16 years (down 12%), the type of material that ends up there certainly has.

The financial health of the world’s lumber producers was mixed in the 3Q/19. The gross margins fell in Northern Europe, while they improved slightly in Austria, Eastern Russia, Western US, and Western Canada, reports the WRQ. In North America, lumber prices started to flatten out and increased slightly in the fall.

China is increasing importation of logs from New Zealand and Europe, while diminishing imports from North America and Russia. As a region, Europe is now the second largest supplier of softwood logs to China behind New Zealand, reports the WRQ.

Russia, Belarus, Germany and Finland have boosted their lumber sales the most this year, reports the WRQ

Forestry has long been foundational in the history, economy, and culture of Canada. More recently, it has figured prominently in what is fast becoming a global “cri de coeur” for environmental leadership and action on climate change.

Canada is a forest nation! With approximately 40% of our total area covered with forests or other wooded land, our forests play a vitally important role in supporting healthy communities.

March 21 is International Day of Forests, as declared by the United Nations. It is a time for us to celebrate our forestry families, forestry communities, and our country’s world-leading approach to how we manage our forests – one of our country’s most important and renewable resources.

Introduction

As early as 2016, studies were introduced that showed numerous process control benefits that can be realized on paper machines equipped with the EasyScan traversing permeability, water content, and temperature measurement capabilities.

Introduction

In the day-to-day operation of paper machines, little thought is typically applied to carrier rope runs until something changes that affects downtime related to sheet transfers and/or rope replacement.

INTRODUCTION

Capabilities now exist that enable paper, board, and tissue makers to scan the moisture level, permeability, and temperature of their felts without having to go onto the machine.

FPInnovations held the world's first platooning tests on forestry roads in Rivière-aux-Rats, near La Tuque, QC, last week, paving the way towards the use of autonomous vehicles.

The installation of a new turbine generator isn't expected to just generate new revenue for Domtar's Windsor, QC facility, it will also produce18 MW of electricity, optimize the mill's steam, all the while ensuring operational flexibility.

Held at FPInnovations headquarters in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, the 2018 edition of the Pulp, Paper and Bioproducts Course provided hands-on training to 45 participants coming from Canada and the United States.

On October 24, Kruger hosted nearly 100 employees, dignitaries and partners to celebrate the end of a project that saw a complete rebuild of a paper machine at its Trois-Rivières, QC, facility.

Cristini, a manufacturer of carrier rope, threading systems and spiral fabrics for filtration and paper machine dryer sections, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary in business in Lachute, QC.

A large-scale pilot plant at Resolute’s Thunder Bay mill will further develop FPInnovations’ patented process to produce “2G” sugars and hydrolysis lignin (H-lignin) using mechanical refining, mild chemical treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis.

Some companies have latched on to this visualization technology to make at-the-scene maintenance more time-effective and sure. Integration with the Industrial Internet (IoT) is essential to achieve it's full value potential.

Stora Enso and BillerudKorsnäs announce plans to phase in microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) in paperboard products. Lightweight milk cartons with Stora Enso MFC are already market tested.